If you’ve been looking for an easy vegan dressing that can be whipped up in about 2-minutes flat, we’ve got you covered. This oil-free 3-ingredient dressing is fabulous on more than salads too.

This plant-based oil-free salad dressing is great on pasta and bean salads, as well as regular garden salads. With only three ingredients required, it’s likely you’ve already got everything needed on-hand.

You’re going to love this healthy oil-free salad dressing because it’s…
- Super easy
- Only 3 ingredients
- Easily customizable
- Healthy
- Light
- Delicious
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3-2-1 Esselstyn Dressing Ingredients:
- balsamic vinegar
- Dijon mustard (or other mustard preferred)
- maple syrup

A full list of ingredients, measurements, instructions, and a print button can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
Tips, substitutions, and tweaks
Another great thing is that these ingredients can be switched out with other variations if desired. For instance, though the recipe calls for balsamic vinegar, other vinegar such as pomegranate, red wine, as well as others can be substituted.
The same goes for the mustard. I personally like Dijon in this dressing, but brown spicy, yellow, and others would likely be delicious too.
If maple syrup isn’t a favorite for you, try agave, brown rice syrup, or another sweetener of your choice.
*Originally published October 2018.
Other recipes this oil-free vegan dressing goes well with
Recently, I demoed Easy 4-Bean Salad in a Food for Life class I was teaching, and I decided to use this dressing instead of the regular Italian dressing called for in the recipe. It was amazing and got rave reviews from class participants. Everyone was delighted to see that it was so easy to make.

Pasta salads are another great option for this dressing. This Easy Vegan Pasta Salad is a terrific recipe that calls for a very similar dressing, but 3-2-1 Dressing could easily be substituted to make it even simpler.
So who is Esselstyn?
Esselstyn 3-2-1 Dressing was created by a chef named Jane Esselstyn. She is the daughter of Dr. B. Caldwell Esselstyn Jr., M.D., author of Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease.

Jane Esselstyn is a fresh and charismatic voice on the plant-based, whole food diet. She brings her perspective and passion as a long-time health and sexuality educator to creating on-ramps to the plant-based way of life. Jane is an avid and inventive designer of plant-based recipes and the co-author of The Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook with her next door neighbor and mom, Ann. —Esselstyn website
Other great salad dressings


Oil-Free Salad Dressing | Esselstyn 3-2-1
This recipe is great on pasta and bean salads, as well as regular garden salads. With only three ingredients required, it's likely you've already got everything needed on-hand.
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar, (or other vinegar)
- 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard (or yellow, brown, spicy)
- 1 Tbsp maple syrup, (or other sweetener)
Instructions
- Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl, or shake up in a jar.
- Pour over garden salad, bean salad, or pasta salad.
- Store leftover dressing in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7-days.
Notes
Detailed instructions, in-process photos, and my personal helpful tips can be found in the article above.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 2 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 56Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gSodium: 412mgCarbohydrates: 12gFiber: 1gSugar: 10gProtein: 1g
To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.
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Margo
Monday 21st of September 2020
I made the dressing for a 2nd time - each time I tripled the recipe as I’m a salad eater extraordinaire! Easy. Delish. Five star.
Kristi
Wednesday 26th of August 2020
This blew my mind and my taste buds. So very yummy! I made a side salad with a Quinoa and mushroom bake. The dressing seeped into the quinoa and oh my goodness was that good. I will be pouring the dressing over quinoa now too. Thank you!
Terri Edwards
Wednesday 26th of August 2020
Hi Kristi- Oh my, that sounds divine! This dressing is perfectly paired with quinoa. What a great accidental discovery. :D
sara
Tuesday 4th of August 2020
I love it, it's super easy and tasty. For how long can i store it?
Terri Edwards
Tuesday 4th of August 2020
Hi Sara- So glad that you like it! It should keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for at least 7-10 days.
Barb Burge
Friday 12th of June 2020
So yummy AND so quick/easy! Thank you!
Pamela
Monday 20th of April 2020
PERFECTION! So VERY Delicious! Cray that three ingredients are so great together and make a wonderfully delicious dressing! Thank you SO MUCH!